My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Bullpen is unable to hold one-run lead as the Phils fall to the Braves, 4-2.

The Phillies’ bullpen is unable to hold onto a one-run lead late in the ballgame as the Phils fall to the Braves, 4-2.

The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the first, as, with the bases loaded, and nobody out, Garret Anderson hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Kelly Johnson, who had earlier singled, had gone to second base after Yunel Escobar had been hit by the pitch, and had gone on to third when Clipper Jones was walked. The Phils would tie the game at one-all in the second, when, with runners on first and second, and one man out, Pedro Feliz hits an RBI single, knocking in Ryan Howard, who had earlier doubled, while sending to third Matt Stairs, who had earlier walked. The game then became a pitchers’ duel between Phillies’ starter Brett Myers and Braves’ starter Kenshin Kawakami, as Myers would pitch himself out of constant trouble while Kawakami kept the Phils’ bats under control. The Phils took the lead in the sixth, as, with a man on, and one out, Stairs hits an RBI double, knocking in Howard, who had earlier doubled, making it 2-1 Phils. The Braves took the lead in the seventh, as, with the bases loaded, via singles to Escobar and Anderson, and a walk to Brian McCann, and two men out, Casey Kotchman hits a weak grounder up the middle that got through the infield for a two-run single, scoring both Escobar and Anderson, making it a 3-2 Braves’ lead, while sending McCann up to second base. The Braves made it a 4-2 game in the ninth, as, with a runner on first and two outs, Kotchman hits an RBI double, scoring Greg Norton, who had earlier walked. That would end up being the final score as the Phils got shut down in the ninth.

Brett Myers got a no-decision as he pitched a good game, giving up only one run on five scattered hits and two walks, while striking out three. Jack Taschner had his first blown save of the year as he took the lost as he pitched only two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk. His record is now 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA. Chad Durbin pitched an inning and a third, giving up only one hit, as he struck out one. Brad Lidge pitched an inning, giving up a run on a hit and a walk. Kenshin Kawakami got the win as he pitched six strong innings against the Phils, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks, as he struck out six. His record is now 2-4 with a 5.79 ERA. Eric O’Flaherty held his third lead of the season as he pitched a scoreless inning, as he struck out a batter. Mike Gonzalez, normally the Braves’ closer, pitched a scoreless inning as he received his first hold of the year, giving up only a walk. Rafeal Soriano collected his third save of the year as he pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up only one hit, while striking out a batter.

The Phillies had only six hits in the ballgame, with Ryan Howard and Matt Stairs each collecting two, including three doubles (two of them for Howard) and a single. Pedro Feliz and pinch hitter Miguel Cairo got the other two hits, both singles. Feliz and Stairs had the Phils two RBIs. Although getting a no-decision, as he pitched his fourth quality start in his last five, as the bullpen is unable to hold the lead for him, Myers has pitched his best game so far this season, mainly because he had established control early in the game by pitching inside to batters, getting them off the plate. Things would probably become even better for Myers once he can put together a 1-2-3 first inning and stop giving up the long ball, as he is presently the Phils’ best starter.

The Phillies (15-14, 3rd) have the day off today. Their next game will be played tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Dodgers (22-11, 1st National League West). The game will start at 7:05 pm Eastern at Citizens Bank Park.

With the Phils I think its more a case of all of the weapons coming into order, and I don’t that will really happen until JC is back on the club, as that particular situation had his name written all over it.

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